A memorial event for Gyeonggi Province firefighters killed in the line of duty was held on a sharply reduced scale after its budget was eliminated. The event, which drew about 5,500 provincial residents last year, this year brought together some 60 people, including bereaved families and fire service officials, and centered on a commemoration and flower-laying ceremony. Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae, who recently drew criticism for calling fire services a "fiscal straw," attended the event and pledged stronger safety measures and better treatment for firefighters.
The 2nd Gyeonggi Fire Service 119 Memorial Day, held on the 24th at the main auditorium of the Gyeonggi Fire and Disaster Headquarters in Suwon, was attended by about 60 people, including 14 family members of firefighters who died in the line of duty, Choo and fire service officials. After watching a memorial video, participants honored the dead with flowers, incense and a moment of silence at Haetae Park inside the headquarters.
The budget for this year's event was eliminated entirely when Gyeonggi Province drew up a reduced supplementary budget, citing a fiscal crisis. The fire and disaster headquarters organized the event using about 7.5 million won of its own office administration funds. The two-hour program centered on bereaved families, with no memorial or hands-on activities for the general public.
Last year's event received 100 million won in provincial funding. A memorial walk and hands-on programs featuring first-aid and firefighting equipment were held at the fire service building and its lawn, and portraits displayed images and stories from the lives of 13 firefighters who died on duty. About 5,500 people attended, including 12 bereaved families.
In her memorial address, Choo said, "The lives that firefighters must protect should include their own lives." She added, "Both the person waiting to be rescued and the person who goes to rescue them must return safely to their families," and said, "I will reflect the voices from the field in our safety measures, examine whether anything is lacking in protecting firefighters' safety, and make sure their treatment and the respect they are shown are changed."
The event came after controversy erupted over Choo's remarks about the fire service and the manner of her apology. At an Oct. 13 parliamentary audit of Gyeonggi Province by the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, Choo was criticized for saying, "The fire service seems like the biggest, most troublesome 'fiscal straw,'" while discussing local government finances and the budget for firefighters, who are national civil servants.
At the funeral hall for Fire Lieutenant Kim Jin-seok, who died in a factory fire in Bucheon on the 17th, she said, "Since you want an apology, I apologize with all my heart," prompting controversy over how she delivered it. Choo apologized again on the 19th at a parliamentary audit by the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, saying, "I sincerely apologize to all the firefighters who were hurt by my recent remarks."